Texas Fire Chief - Fall/Winter 2008 - (Page 16)

Mayberry VFD… By Chief Darrell Deckard, Crockett Fire Department Why Change? town aura will be lost forever. Or that such action will lead to even more changes that will adversely affect the cozy, slow-paced life style they hold so dear. In our community, these forces are at work in every arena of public service. Our fire department was founded in 1894. Since that time, it has been staffed by local citizens and family owned business leaders. For the most part, these people were born and raised here. They want their children to grow up and experience the same lifestyle they did. This is the key to understanding the obstacles facing any rural entity seeking to modernize and grow. Making your case to your boss, the governing body and the general public is the most important step in the process. You must have a well researched and documented plan. Keep an open mind when you start to envision the fi nal product. Use the current architectural theme of the community. If you can make it fit in seamlessly, you may be able to reduce negative reactions. The biggest hurdle is always funding. Our plan is to explore and exhaust all alternatives to seeking city funding. Private donations and grants were our fi rst options. Donations were not a good source for a project of this size. Grants can be an excellent resource if you can match the project to the best grant. You must also consider that many grant programs require matching funds. The match may be anywhere from 5 percent to 50 percent of the total project cost, depending on the program parameters. Some programs allow for the consideration of “in kind” services to offset or be applied as matching funds. With this in mind, we chose to apply to the USDA Rural Development grant program. The USDA program has the potential to fund our project at the 100 percent level. However, as we have found, the process is very lengthy and unpredictable. We are committed to this program as our primary funding source and, as such, must wait for the wheels of government to slowly progress. In the event we are unsuccessful with our application, our final option is to convince the city council to initiate funding through calling for a bond issue or certificates of obligation. Since these options are bound to draw opposition, we plan to incorporate the capital improvement plans of our police department into the project. This will make the issue appeal to a broader cross-section of the community and bring additional justification. We do not currently have a contingency plan in the event that our efforts fail. However, we don’t have the option of just turning our back on the needs of our department and the community. If necessary, we will reassess our issues and options and start over on a plan to address them. There is an old saying that applies here: “Poor folks have poor ways.” TEXAS FIRE CHIEF Fall/Winter 2008 B uilding, relocating or remodeling a fi re station can be a very traumatic event. In rural east Texas, it is a process that a fi re chief will likely only see once in his/her career. The protectionist mind set of the citizenry in our small towns will work against efforts to modernize or enlarge long established entities such as fi re departments. There is an underlying fear that the small- 16 393229_Pellerin.indd 1 7/28/08 2:26:39 PM http://www.pellerinlaundry.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Texas Fire Chief - Fall/Winter 2008

Texas Fire Chief - Fall/Winter 2008 Contents Executive Director’s Report Texas Fire Chiefs Academy Project Reports Southwest Fire Rescue Conference Program Membership Application Customer Service Orientation in Fire Rescue Departments A Visit to the E-One Plant Index to Advertisers

Texas Fire Chief - Fall/Winter 2008

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